"Never negotiate out of fear, but never fear to negotiate" - J F Kennedy

Terms and Conditions

When starting up a company or having traded for a few years, we all consider the banking arrangements, insurance provisions and we research our suppliers and customers but how may people look at the way they trade? Yet everyday we read or hear "terms and conditions apply"; what protection do you give yourself when contracting with others?
All companies should have easily understandable terms and conditions which govern every transaction they undertake - Confidence provides the following services:

• Training as to what are terms and conditions, why are they needed and how to use them.
• Understanding and implementing different terms and conditions for business to consumer, business to business and distance selling.
• Drafting bespoke and easy to follow terms and conditions for businesses and ensuring that they fully understand what their position is for example with regard to payment, risk, insurance obligations, termination or cancellation.
• Understanding whose terms and conditions apply - battle of the forms and how to make sure the business gets their terms to apply to the transaction.
• What to look for in other business's terms and conditions - training and advice about the main risks so businesses can make a commercial decision about whether or not to go ahead - how to reject certain terms and advice and what to put in their place without losing the deal.
•  A reading and feedback service for contracts which businesses don't understand. Confidence will provide a contract analysis highlighting areas of risk.

Negotiation

So you have fallen out - it happens. What are you entitled to and how do you get it? Confidence assesses the position when there has been a fall out and helps negotiate the best way forward. Confidence believes that by advising businesses what to say and how to handle the situation themselves from a behind the scenes setting means a quicker and more mutually acceptable resolution - often situations are best resolved without the involvement of your solicitors office in the first instance and unfortunately only too often escalation processes immediately jump to this measure which is time- consuming, costly and unhelpful.

• Confidence takes a pragmatic view and offers immediate advice.
• Claim preparation.
• Claim resolution and covert or overt negotiating.
• Formally recording resolved situations.

And where you've made a new friend, negotiating contracts - a big project might require more than standard terms and conditions. The contracting party might want a framework order which ties a business in for a number of years. What is good for a business in year one has to also reflect what is good for a business three years later. Confidence can advise and draft this for you.

Day to Day Commercial Advice

What would you do? Would you go for it? I haven't been paid? The goods we bought from our supplier are faulty? I want to introduce a new product? Confidence will lend an objective ear and help businesses apply sound commercial judgment.